Digimon Hearts
by Buretsu
Summary: A new enemy threatens the Tamers, but they are powerless against it! Will three strange individuals help them fight... and win back one of their own?


Rika fell back onto her mattress angrily, the recent conversation with Renamon still fresh in her mind.  She still didn't get why Renamon was so adamant about protecting her.  And, if she didn't know better, she would say that Renamon had been hurt by her words.  But, she told herself, that was ridiculous.  Renamon was only a Digimon, and Digimon were only data, a mere amalgamation of ones and zeros taken solid form.  Renamon was data, and data simply didn't have feelings to be hurt.  "It's not like Renamon has a… heart or anything.  Right?" she thought.

Rika twisted into a sitting position and sighed angrily.  If she had known that becoming a Tamer would make her second guess everything she knew, then she might have reconsidered in the first place.  A walk, she decided, was what she needed right now.  To this end, Rika stood up and walked over to her door, but paused before stepping out.  She glanced around the room once before shaking her head and leaving.  It was probably just her imagination, but it seemed one of the shadows was darker than it should have been…

******

Ice Devimon examined the space he had created for himself on top of the building.  He smiled faintly at the ice that was covering the entirety of the roof.  Even though it was obvious to anyone looking, it would do for his purposes.  Soon he would have himself a Tamer, one perfectly suited to his style.  The only thing left to do was bring her to him.

"Charming."

Ice Devimon whirled around trying to discover the source of the voice.  The only likely source was a large dark spot on one of his ice walls.  It almost looked like a portal of some sort and he could almost make out the form of a human through the shifting blackness.

"Charming, but cold," the voice continued.  The form resolved itself into a tall woman dressed in a high-collared long black robe lined with purple.  She radiated an air of power and evil, an air certainly helped by what appeared to be demon's horns on her head.  "Although, it certainly seems to suit one such as yourself."

"Who are you?" Ice Devimon sneered as the portal spiraled in on itself and disappeared.  "No, more like, what are you?"

"All you need to know for now," the woman said in a sharp voice, "is that I am prepared to offer you power the likes of which you cannot possibly conceive."

"Is that so," Ice Devimon said warily, not dropping his guard for an instant.  "And I suppose you want something in return?"

"Admittedly," she replied, "I am rather curious.  You are like no other creature I have come upon.  I believe you would be quite a worthwhile… subordinate."

"So that is the catch," Ice Devimon said, his eyes narrowing.  "In exchange for power, I become your slave?"

The woman sighed.  "Slave doesn't describe it accurately.  More like 'limited partner.'  I have had several such partners already, all of which would have benefitted greatly had they not failed me.  You would be one more.   The offer stands.  Take it, or leave it."

Ice Devimon considered for a minute and found that, although the possible price was high, the offer was simply too good to pass up.  "What do we do first?"

The woman smiled evilly, a look she had obviously had plenty of practice using.  "I don't believe that I have introduced myself.  I am called Maleficent."

******

Rika kicked at a random pebble as her walk took her into the city, as if the light clatter could drown out the conversation replaying continually in her head.  "I don't need you..."  Again, that look appeared on Renamon's face like she was actually hurt by the words.   "I don't need anyone..."

If that was the case, then why did she keep going back to that moment?  Rika tried to look at everything logically, but failed.  Renamon was data, therefore she didn't have any feelings to hurt.  Or did she?  It just didn't make any sense to...

Rika froze as an all-too-familiar sensation dropped over her.  Froze was the appropriate word, as Rika could clearly see her breath as it fogged out of her mouth.  There was something more to it this time, as if something shadowy and cold were about to take ahold of her.  Quickly, she spun around to confront whatever was there.

"What do you want?" she asked, but she only received curious stares from the people walking behind her.  The sensation had passed, but that wasn't enough to satisfy her.  Looking around quickly, she got a vague impression of a shadowy figure floating around a corner into an alley and started off after it, shoving the two behind her aside with an "Out of my way!"

But, by the time she had reached the mouth of the alley, there was nothing and nobody in sight.  She leaned against a wall, trying desperately to control her wild breathing.  A thought entered her mind to call for Renamon, only to be replaced with "I don't need anyone..."  She never noticed that the shadow at her feet was much larger than it should have been until it reached up with a black appendage and dragged her down.  She didn't even have time to cry out.

******

"Gawrsh," the tall knight exclaimed, "do ya s'pose the Heartless have invaded this world too?"

The view out of the screen of the ship showed the latest in a series of worlds.  The upper half of the world showed a veritable forest of tall buildings while the underside was brown and barren.  Still, compared to the shape of some of the other worlds, it was unremarkable.

"Well," the young boy replied, "there's really only one way to find out.  Unless there are any objections?"

The surly magician grumbled loudly at this.  "Would you listen if I had any?"

"Nope!" the boy answered, a sly grin on his face softening the words.  The mage grumbled again, but he was ignored.  "Well, then, it's settled.  Let's see if we can't find who we're looking for."

******

"Digimodify!"  Takato called, swiping a Digimon card through his digivice.  "How was that?" he asked his friend standing across from him.

Henry raised an eyebrow in response and thought carefully.  "Not bad…  Do you know about combos?"

Takato considered the question and nodded.  "That's where you use multiple cards in a row, right?"  He remembered that from the card game, but he had never actually managed to use one properly.

"Right," Henry nodded.  "It can get pret-"

He was cut off by a loud shriek from another section of the park.  "What the heck was that?" Takato cried, frantically looking around.

Henry looked up, but he couldn't see a digital field.  "I'm not sure," he answered back.  "C'mon!  We need to check it out!  Terriermon!"

The white and green bunny leaped off the tree onto Henry's shoulders as the two of them rushed off.

"Right!  Guilmon?"  Takato turned to his partner, but Guilmon was ahead of him.  The red dragon's eyes were narrowed into slits, and he was crouched dangerously.  "Wh-what is it?  Is it a Digimon"

"Something smells… wrong," Guilmon growled in response.  "But it's not a Digimon…"  With that, he leapt off in the direction that Henry had left in.  Takato squawked in dismay and ran after them.

When he arrived in the courtyard, he was greeted with an odd sight.  Dozens of what appeared to be lumps of black with eyes were gathered around what appeared to be some twisted parody of a knight… the knight, and several unmoving bodies.  Henry was checking on one of them as Terriermon stood protectively keeping an eye on the shadows.

"Takato," Henry said, turning to his friend.  "They seem to be alive, but… well, the best way to put it is empty."

Guilmon, still growling, looked quickly from black shape to black shape.  Unnervingly, they stared back, yellow eyes moving about as they danced from foot to foot.  The knight turned from the body he was standing over and faced the Tamers.  Takato and Henry stared back nervously until...

En masse, the shadowy creatures rushed the two humans, but not before Terriermon and Guilmon could step in the way.  The creatures split up, each half swarming around each Digimon, while the knight advanced on Henry and Takato, who could only back off nervously.

"Terrier Tornado!"  Extending his ears, Terriermon spun a large tornado around himself, catching the swarming shadows in its winds.  The flung creatures impacted with trees and the ground, collapsing into small black puddles.  It was too early to celebrate as the puddles reformed.

Nearby, Guilmon wasn't having much luck either.  He wildly swung around his claws, but none of the hits seemed to phase the beings.  "Pyro Sphere!"  The fireball that Guilmon shot from his mouth didn't work either, as the shadow he launched it at simply melted into a puddle on the ground letting the attack fly harmlessly by.

While his shadows were occupying the threat, the knight was advancing on its next two targets.  It knew from its orders that they were the biggest threat… as well as the biggest potential gain.  That didn't stop it from having a little fun first though.

"Look out!"  Takato yelled as the knight jumped at Henry, clawed hands extending.  Henry executed a shoulder-tuck roll, neatly avoiding the attack and countering with one of his own.  He continued the roll, bringing his foot around, catching the knight on the side of its helmet and sending it sprawling.  Spinning to his feet, Henry dropped into a fighting stance opposite the fallen knight.

"Uhh… nice," Takato managed to get out upon seeing Henry's display of ability.

"Thanks," Henry replied.  "Sensei says I'm coming along nicely… But this isn't the time!"

The knight had already gotten to its feet, none the worse for the powerful kick to its head.  Even worse, the Digimon were overwhelmed by the sheer quantity of the shadow creatures swarming over them.  The situation was looking grim.

"Well," Takato suggested feebly, "we could try a card…"

"Thundara!  Thundara!" a pair of voices cried out at the same time.  Takato and Henry ducked down and away as golden lightning rained down onto the mass of shadows covering the Digimon, causing the creatures to burst and dissipate.  Shaking their heads, Guilmon and Terriermon got back to their feet to stare curiously at the newcomers.  The knight, forgetting the Tamers, turned to face the three new threats that came into sight at the edge of the clearing.

Recognizing them, it charged at the new trio, only to have the tallest of them meet his charge with a large shield.  "Looks like the Heartless are here after all," he said as the shadow knight bounced off his shield and into the air.

"King Mickey isn't going to be in a place like this though," the shortest one replied, waving his staff.  "Stopra!"  With a bizarre flash, the knight abruptly froze in midair as the third arrival stepped forward.

A flourish of his hands later, and what appeared to be a large key appeared in his hands.  "Still, my friends might be here."  Leaping into the air, the boy brought the key down onto the still frozen knight.  The knight exploded in a shower of fragmented light, and the boy rose from the crouch he had landed in.  In a flash, the key was gone from his hands again, and he used them to give a friendly wave to Takato and Henry.

"Hey!" he said, cheerfully.  "My name's Sora.  Do you think you could give us a hand?"


End file.
